Guildford: The Picture of Dorian Gray adapted for the stage
On tour
Casting has been announced for Seán Aydon’s new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
It plays the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford from Tuesday to Saturday, November 3-7.
Jack Crumlin (Lonnie Byers in Stranger Things: The First Shadow and To Kill a Mocking Bird, both West End) will be Dorian Gray, Mark Oxtoby (Strickland in Back to the Future and Monsieur Andre in Phantom of the Opera, both West End) will play Basil Hallward and Mark Hawkins (Woman in Black, West End and UK & Ireland Tour) will play Lord Henry Wotton.
Based on the classic novel by Oscar Wilde, the production will tour the UK in autumn 2026. Presented by Tilted Wig, in association with Watford Palace Theatre and directed by Seán Aydon, it will also feature Lydia Whitehead as Sybil Vane, Ayesha Griffiths as Catherine Vane, Lydea Perkins as Lady Victoria Wotton and Max Burnett as Romeo.
In a society obsessed with youth and beauty, Dorian Gray is offered the ultimate prize: eternal perfection. But perfection comes at a price – one that must be paid in blood.
“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
A spokesman said: “This striking new production celebrates Wilde’s dazzling wit and dark imagination. Stylish, provocative and unsettlingly thrilling, The Picture of Dorian Gray plunges audiences into a world where charm is currency, morality is negotiable and the truth always exacts its price.
“Oscar Wilde’s only novel remains as razor-sharp and resonant as ever – a chilling portrait of vanity, corruption and the cost of unchecked desire.”
The production is adapted and directed by Seán Aydon whose recent tours include Spitfire Girls, The School for Scandal and Frankenstein. Set and costume design is by Sarah Beaton, lighting design is by Peter Small, sound design is by Russell Ditchfield and the fight director/intimacy co-ordinator is Kaitlin Howard.